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As the raids against food and dairy adulteration continue, officials of the health department, food safety department, and police conducted a collective surprise inspection at a milk collection center of Nabha-based unit of an FMCG company GlaxoSmithKlime (GSK) on Wednesday.

The team seized 1,200 liters of milk, three bags of suspected adulterant powder without any label, five kgs of glucose powder with five empty bags of the same, six empty tins of refined oil, 32 bottles of unidentified liquid chemical without label and nine empty bottles of the same.

The department took samples of milk, powder (suspected to be urea) and the liquid chemical and sent them to the Kharar chemical lab for testing.

The material was found hidden in a secret room in a villager Harpal Singh’s house. Harpal allegedly collects milk from the farmers and sells it to the company. The entry of the room was hidden behind an almirah and it was difficult to make out if there was a room behind the wall.

Food safety officer Puneet Sharma said that the sample of the milk will determine if it had adulterants, but it foul smelled. She said refined oil could have been used to add fats while the glucose powder and the other suspected powder could be used to make the mixture look like milk. The team also found 10 mixer grinders in the room.

Also read: Trade of spurious milk products in past fortnight has left Punjab shocked

Meanwhile, the police has arrested Harpal Singh and booked him under Sections 272 (adulteration of food and drinks), 273 (sale of noxious food), 274 (drug adulteration), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and he will be presented before a local court on Thursday.

District health officer Krishan Singh said that the department will collect samples from the GSK plant too and test their products and ingredients.

Bhadson station house officer (SHO) Harmanpreet Singh said that the police were investigating the matter and would find more persons involved in the racket.

Meanwhile, M Sindhu, GSK consumer healthcare spokesperson said, “The sample collected was from Bulk Milk Cooler, an independent contractor. GSK Consumer Healthcare is a responsible company, committed to bringing the best for its consumers. The matter has been brought to our notice and we are looking into it. Our products are manufactured in compliance with strict quality standards and they meet all statutory quality requirements.”